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CHUM (AM)
CHUM, branded as CP24 Radio 1050, broadcasting at 1050 kHz in the AM band, is a Canadian radio station licenced in Toronto, Ontario. The station is O&O by CTVglobemedia. Long known as 1050 CHUM, the station played Top 40 hits from the late 1950s to the early 1980s. CHUM then carried an oldies format featuring music from that period between 1989 to 2009, except for a brief stint as a Sports radio outlet in 2001 to 02. Since 26 March, 2009, CHUM has been broadcasting an All-news Radio format as CP24 Radio 1050. The rebranded station operates primarily as a simulcast of CTVglobemedia's local all-news cable channel CablePulse 24, with separate advertising and a few hours of radio-only programming on the weekend. Station history Early history and Top 40 format CHUM-AM was launched as a dawn-to-dusk radio station on 28 October, 1945 by Jack Q'Part, a patent medicine entrepreneur. The station, then operating from studios in the Mutual Street Arena, was taken over in December 1954 by Allan Waters, a salesman from Q'Parts' patent medicine business. Waters' first major move was to secure a license for 24-hour-a-day broadcasting for CHUM, along with a power increase to 5,000 watts. Less than three years after Waters acquired the station and soon after bringing the new full-time transmitter online, a major programming change was made. On 27 May, 1957, Waters switched to a Top 50 format that had proven itself popular in some U.S. cities. Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up" was the first song played. 1050 CHUM pioneered rock and roll radio in Toronto and was noteworthy for hosting many rock concerts including, among others, visits to Maple Leaf Gardens by Elvis Presley (1957) and the Beatles (1964, '65, '66). While the station was rising to the top of the popularity ratings in Toronto in the early 1960s, it also built another new transmitter in Mississauga, Ontario, (a few miles west of the current Toronto city line) along the Lake Ontario shoreline andraised its power once again to its current 50,000 watts around the clock. CHUM DJs of the 1960s were zany morning man Al Boliska, who quit in late 1963 to go 'across the street' to CHKT-AM. He was replaced by WKBW Buffalo radio and TV personality Jay Nelson, popularly known as Jungle Jay from his role as host of a children's show on Buffalo's Ch. 7 which was also popular among Toronto youngsters. He would be followed by housewives' jock John Spragge; singer/DJ Mike Darow; Pete Nordheimer, replaced in 1961 by witty Bob McAdorey; teen DJ Dave Johnson and all night maven Bob Laine. Later additions to the CHUM DJ lineup included Duff Roman and Brian Skinner, both of whom came from CKEY (then owned by Jack Kent Cooke). In the late 1960s & early 1970s, CHUM DJ's included Duke Roberts (also known as Gary Duke for a time), Johnny Mitchell (better known today as Sonny Fox), J. Michael Wilson, Tom Rivers, Scott Carpenter, Jim Van Horne, John Rode, Don Reagan, John Majhor, Mike Cooper, Daryl B, Terry Steele and Roger Ashby. Among their later night-time hosts was J. D. Roberts, who joined CHUM in 1977, went on to co-host CTV's Canada AM in the early 1990s, and would eventually become known across North America as White House correspondent for CBS. He now hosts CNN's morning program American Morning. CHUM was also well known for its contests, like the 1970s' "I Listen to CHUM" promotion, in which DJs would dial phone numbers at random and award $1,000 to anyone who answered the phone with that phrase. The CHUM Chart was, for many years, the most influential weekly Top 40 chart in Canada and has been hailed as the longest running continuously published radio station record survey in North America. The first CHUM Chart was released on May 27, 1957, with Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up" the first #1 song. From gold-based to oldies By the mid-1980s, CHUM had lost ground in the Toronto ratings to competitor Top 40 station CFTR and FM-based music stations. On 6 June, 1986, CHUM dropped its Top 40 format for a gold-based adult contemporary format ("Favourites of Yesterday and Today"). The CHUM Chart ended the week of 14 June, 1986, with Madonna's "Live to Tell" as the final #1 song. By 1989, CHUM adopted an oldies format, drawing heavily on its previous Top 40 reputation to cater to the fans of that era's music. In 1998, CHUM obtained the radio broadcast rights to Toronto Blue Jays baseball, resulting in a shift toward sports programming on the station. The Team 1050 In 2001, CHUM's owners launched a national sports radio network, The Team, with CHUM serving as the network's flagship (to be called "Team 1050"). As part of the synergy, Toronto Blue Jays broadcasts were available nationwide on the Team Radio Network. That meant the end of music on 1050 CHUM, which occurred on May 7, 2001. Duff Roman and Bob Laine hosted a farewell party, ending with Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up" and an audio montage of CHUM memories. Then at 3 p.m., "The Team Radio Network" was launched on CHUM and CHUM-owned stations across Canada. Noted Canadian sportscaster Jim Van Horne, who had recently left TSN, was the network's marquee host. In the 1970s, before he turned to sports broadcasting, Van Horne had been a rock jock on 1050 CHUM. While the station retained the CHUM call letters, the station was not referred to as 1050 CHUM, but rather by its Team 1050 name. Nevertheless, "1050 CHUM" wasn't entirely put to rest, as the oldies format continued on a 24-hour webcast at the 1050chum.com website. The Team network did not prove successful, especially in Toronto, where CHUM struggled against long-time sports station The Fan 590. On 27 August, 2002, the network was closed and while a few affiliates nationwide retained the sports format, others reverted to their pre-Team format, including CHUM, which reverted to oldies. Rebirth of 1050 CHUM At 2 p.m. on 27 August, 2002, the montage that closed down 1050 CHUM reintroduced the oldies format, followed by the Elvis vs. JXL Remix of "A Little Less Conversation" and Presley's "All Shook Up". The station reverted to a playlist of music (along with occasional liners and IDs) that were popular in CHUM's 50s to 80s Top 40 heyday. The station also featured the The Morning Show with Gord James & the James Gang, as well as call-in lifestyle programs on weekend mornings. In 2007, CHUM and the rest of the CHUM Limited stations (with the exception of Citytv) were sold to CTVglobemedia. That same year, CHUM commemorated the 50th anniversary of the launch of its rock and roll format, the highlights of which included vignettes and specials throughout the year, as well as anniversary celebrations on 26 May, 2007 that included an open house at CHUM's studios at 1331 Yonge Street, in conjunction with Doors Open Toronto and a concert at Nathan Phillips Square. In 2008, CTVglobemedia announced they had sold 1331 Yonge Street to a condominium developer and had acquired a new property, 250 Richmond Street West, to serve as the new home of CHUM and CHUM-FM. Conversion to all news Almost seven years after the demise of The Team and amidst other cost cutting measures at CTVglobemedia and other Canadian broadcasters due to the global economic crisis, CTV announced on 25 March, 2009, that CHUM would again drop its oldies format. The station would be converted to all news as CP24 Radio 1050, effective 5 a.m. the following day. The move coincided with the launch of CP24's new morning program, CP24 Breakfast, marking the final separation of the CP24 newsroom from that of Citytv, now owned by Rogers, as its rival all news radio station 680 News. Unlike the sendoff the station received upon its switch to The Team, the switch occurred without ceremony and with minimal publicity; indeed, the press release announcing the change only did so obliquely, making no reference to the end of the oldies format and concentrating on the new morning show. Moreover, there was to be no webcast of the former oldies format, as 1050chum.com now redirects to the CP24 website. The change came a few weeks after the CRTC revised its formatting regulations to permit oldies music on FM radio for the first time, although no Toronto FM stations have yet adopted that format. In the meantime, oldies are still carried on Hamilton's CKOC (1150), while pop standards station CFZM (740) is now marketing itself as an alternative as well. External links *CP24 Radio 1050 *CHUM history @ Canadian Communications Foundation